Short answer

Windows 10 doesn’t have Live Captions. Microsoft’s built-in captions need Windows 11, version 22H2 or later. On Windows 10 you can use Chrome’s Live Caption for audio playing in Chrome, your meeting app’s own captions, or a captioning app that works across your whole PC, like Hearica, which runs on Windows 10 and 11.

Why Windows 10 doesn’t have Live Captions

Live Captions arrived with the Windows 11 2022 update (version 22H2), and Microsoft never brought it to Windows 10. Windows 10 reached the end of support on 14 October 2025, so it won’t get new features. Plenty of PCs still run it, often because they don’t meet Windows 11’s hardware requirements.

Your options

Option What it captions Languages Keeps a transcript
Chrome Live Caption Audio playing in Chrome only 19, with translation No
Meeting app captions (Teams, Zoom, Meet) That app’s meetings only Varies Only if transcription is on
Hearica Everything your PC plays (system-wide) 60, with translation Yes, with audio, saved by default

Chrome Live Caption

If most of what you watch plays in the browser, Chrome’s built-in captions are a good free start. Go to Chrome → Settings → Accessibility and turn on Live Caption. Captions are processed on your PC and appear in a small box you can move.

Your meeting app’s captions

Teams, Zoom and Google Meet all have captions for their own meetings, and some can save a transcript if the organizer turns transcription on. They’re tied to that one app, though, and some features, such as translated captions in Teams, need a paid add-on.

Captions across your whole PC with Hearica

Hearica puts a floating caption window over whatever you’re doing, and captions any sound your PC plays: a Teams call, a Zoom webinar, a YouTube video or a lecture recording. It works on Windows 10 (version 1607 or later) and Windows 11.

  • Accurate where it’s hardest. In our side-by-side test against Windows 11’s Live Captions, Hearica made 30% fewer errors on meeting audio with people talking over each other.
  • Keeps a transcript. Sessions are saved by default with their audio, so you can search, replay and export them.
  • Translates as you listen, between 60 languages.
  • Easy to read. Change the text size, color, outline and background, and move or lock the window.

The free plan includes 60 minutes of captions a month.

Download Hearica for Windows · See plans and pricing

Should you upgrade to Windows 11 instead?

If your PC is eligible, upgrading is free and gets you Live Captions. To check, go to Settings → Update & Security → Windows Update, which says whether your PC can run Windows 11, or use Microsoft’s PC Health Check app. Either way, Hearica works the same on both.